Could have been a lot worse, but also could have been a lot better.

Rating: 5/10 (19 August 2005)

The Island is not a bad movie; it's just another in a long line of frustrating Hollywood thrillers that have a good movie living inside of them desperately trying to get out. There's so much that's good here, that the bad brings down the entire experience. The underlying problem with this movie is Michael Bay. He has missed the mark yet again. The Island starts out as an engaging, entertaining Sci-Fi film. Then, about halfway through, it gets Bayified. Guns, explosions, chases, and actors yelling "run" over and over again.
The movie starts out in a futuristic world where everybody dresses alike, lives in a contained environment, and believe that their only salvation is the prospect of getting to 'The Island', the only place in the world where life still flourishes. Well, as we all should know by now, "life finds a way". Lincoln, played by Ewan McGregor, starts to get curious about who he is and why he lives the way he does. Why can't he have bacon? Why is Tuesday always tofu night? Why does he always have to wear white, even after Labor Day (I wish that joke was actually in the movie). He has a "friendship" with Jordan, played by Scarlett Johannson.
This could have been a movie in itself as these characters begin to understand who they are, or what they are, and why they live the way they do. Instead, about 30 minutes into the film, Lincoln discovers the big secret, grabs Jordan, yells "run!!", and the Michael Bay film begins.
The big secret is that these people are clones. They have been created by a doctor, played by Sean Bean in an stunningly innovative casting choice, as a way to help their "sponsors" live longer. They are essentially used as replacement parts.
The next 90 minutes of the film include a freeway chase, a helicopter chase, a car chase, Lincoln yelling "run" at least 24 times, a car chase, a fall from a skyscraper, a car chase, numerous dead cops, and even a speeder bike chase. Eventually, the good guys win and the bad guys lose.
So, what's good in this movie? First, McGregor is good as both Tom Lincolns. You can tell them apart by the blond highlights in the clone's hair, by the way. I liked the fact that they realized that 2019 isn't that far away, so L.A. looks different, but not that different. There are familiar buildings, cars, brand names, etc. Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan and Djimon Honsou are all solid, not surprisingly. The movie has some funny moments, such as Lincoln getting worried when he's told his friend is "in the can". I know film-making technology has really come along way, but the scenes involving both Lincoln characters are so well done that you forget there's only one actor on the screen.
What's bad? First and foremost, Scarlett Johannson is completely wasted in this movie. It is by no means her fault. There is no character for her to play. The movie literally could have existed without the character of Jordan. She's only there to look good. We never find out what happens to the real Sarah Jordan. We're told she's likely to die even with replacement parts, so even though the movie is all about saving lives, I guess it wasn't in the script to save her. I liked Honsou as the tough, no nonsense operative out to retrieve the missing clones, but of course there ends up being more to his character. Otherwise, Honsou never would have been in this movie. And of course, there's the Bay factor. There are only so many times that characters can survive car wrecks, and falls from great heights, and bullets just missing them. It just gets old, and the box office reflects that.